


Venomous Sleep

by fecklessphilanderer



Series: The Arcana Whump [9]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Confusion, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Panic Attacks, Poisoning, Sleep Deprivation, Torture, Violence, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 04:14:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fecklessphilanderer/pseuds/fecklessphilanderer
Summary: "Y/n how do you feel?”“Sleepy…but I shouldn’t sleep.” His smile is strained as he nods in agreement.“You’ve been poisoned y/n.”“Well that explains why I’m on the floor then.”There’s a choked laugh somewhere behind you and Valerius cracks a slight smile.[the apprentice is hit with a nasty poison which only works if the victim is asleep]
Relationships: Apprentice/Valerius (The Arcana), Valerius (The Arcana)/Reader
Series: The Arcana Whump [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675759
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Venomous Sleep

Muriel carries you into the palace with Asra trailing at your side. The world seems to be swimming before your eyes. You’re not sure if it’s the pace Muriel is going at or the screaming agony from the pockmark wound that the dart hit- now a swollen and red mark on your shoulder.

“You’re alright y/n, don’t worry we’ve got you— Nadia get my parents! Send someone for Julian!” Servants are scattering around you in what looks like terror. You try to look ahead but Nadia’s whooshing robes in front of you make everything feel fuzzy.

You squeeze your eyes shut.

You bounce so suddenly that you open your eyes again in shock. Muriel’s face looks pale above you.

“Sorry, don’t sleep.” Is all he offers.

So, you stare at the rapidly passing roof. The architecture of the palace is quite striking now that you have the time to watch it go by.

You’re deposited on the hard floor which makes you groan. Nadia leans over you.

“I’m sorry y/n, we have to keep you awake to prevent this from doing major harm.”

“Prevent what?” You’re not sure if you remember.

“Severe confusion,” you hear Salim say.

“Roll them over,” there’s soft leather on your arms now.

“Julian?” You ask.

“Just me y/n, you’re going to be alright.”

“Why is everyone here?”

“You’re hurt love, they’re taking care of you.” Soft hands ground you as they cup your cheeks and tilt your face up. You can feel many other hands touching your shoulder. One palm lightly taps on your temple and you are drawn out of your stupor.

“Val.”

“There you are.”

“When did you get here?”

“Not long ago. Y/n how do you feel?”

“Sleepy…but I shouldn’t sleep.” His smile is strained as he nods in agreement.

“You’ve been poisoned y/n.”

“Well that explains why I’m on the floor then.”

There’s a choked laugh somewhere behind you and Valerius cracks a slight smile.

…

Valerius tries to appear domineering. But it is difficult to keep up pretenses when his partner is flat out and he’s wearing his pyjamas underneath the haphazard dark blue robes that he’d thrown on to cover himself.

“I will watch them.”

“This isn’t a good idea. We should keep them with us.” Asra bristles.

“Someone will need to keep them awake until we get the antidote together.” Dr. Devorak says while prodding at the large bump on the back of y/n’s shoulder.

“All the more reason to keep them with us.”

“Valerius has a point Asra,” Aisha says. Valerius is somewhat shocked that she’s defending his position.

“We need all of us here to collect ingredients and get the antidote together as soon as possible. Valerius wouldn’t be able to help much with that.”

“I don’t know if we should trust—” Muriel places a hand on Asra’s arm.

“The confusion will probably get worse; we may have to be constantly re-explaining what’s happening to them. It’ll be hard to get anything done.” Salim rubs his chin pensively.

“But he’s—”

“Have I not proven myself to be committed to y/n as I am to this city?” Valerius is aware of the magician’s distaste for him, but he is not willing to turn this into a pissing match for y/n’s attentions.

“You have.” Nadia speaks with a hand pressed to her temple, “you have Valerius. We need to get to work. Muriel, could you help deliver y/n to his rooms?”

She leaves no more room for discussion.

The hulking man nods and gently picks y/n back up, giving them a light jostle to keep them awake.

“I can charm an object to administer small shocks whenever they try to sleep. I’ll have it sent to you as soon as possible.” Salim says.

“I hardly think I’ll need that,” Valerius tries not to sneer, but it seems like a torture device. Asra appears equally horrified.

“You might, the longer they go the more they’ll want to sleep.” Aisha seems just as detached about the issue.

“Fine. Send whatever you think I’ll need.” He turns and heads out the door with his head held high. Once out of sight, he waits for Muriel to carry y/n through the doorway.

They mumble something Valerius can’t make out. Muriel scoffs a little laugh.

Valerius quite enjoys Muriel. He’s a man who enjoys silence much like Valerius. He’s a much gentler person that Valerius expected. But he could respect someone who’d suffered Lucio for so long and came out gentle. Valerius certainly hadn’t, but he started out a bastard in the first place.

They pass the head servant. Portia. On their way to his rooms.

“Miss Portia,” She stops with a grin that quickly falls when she spots y/n in Muriel’s arms.

“Y/n, are you alright? Consul, what happened!”

“I’m fine Portia, just going to bed.” Y/n mumbles, this earns them a sturdy shake from Muriel.

“They’ve been poisoned. I was hoping you could let the other staff know to stay away from my rooms tonight. Y/n cannot be allowed to sleep so it may be disturbing for them.”

She frowns. Then nods.

“No one will bother you!”

Valerius has been and is continually baffled by how agreeable all the servants at the palace have become towards him since he’d begun seeing y/n.

He’d like to think that his preoccupation with becoming corrupted by the devil is what made him lose his manners. But that would be too easy. The simple answer to the question of why people like Portia had warmed up to him was that y/n called him out on the fact he’d never learned anyone’s names. Weeks before they even became friends, y/n told him he’d never match up to a good leader like Nadia if he couldn’t be bothered to know the names of the people who kept the palace running.

So, he memorized their names in a night and made sure to call everyone by name to spite y/n.

He learned quickly, to his chagrin, that knowing people’s names did in fact make a difference.

It wasn’t because he was corrupted, he’d become too apathetic to bother trying, to focussed on the big picture of Vesuvia to see how the smaller details mattered.

“Thank you.” He says. Portia grins and gives him a thumbs up before scurrying away.

Muriel deposits y/n on the bed carefully. Valerius gives him his thanks. He grunts in response and then leaves far too quietly for someone of his size.

Y/n seems somewhat lucid, so Valerius begins by talking to them as he lights candles and opens curtains to let in as much light as possible from the rising moon and dimming sky.

He pulls them into the upright position. They seem shaky but not completely unable to walk, so he locks their hands with his and leads them to settle on his least padded armchair.

“I can’t sleep.”

“Correct my love. Do not worry I’ll help you.”

“Love you.” They mumble as if they could fall asleep right there. He reaches out a hand to gently shake them and they let out a little annoyed huff.

The violin is a pleasure which Valerius only indulges in private. That was until he met y/n. They liked it when he played for them after a long day, something soft, soothing.

He considers the instrument as he unlatches the ornate case.

This was not a time for calm music to soothe the soul.

“You’re lucky you goaded me to beat that idiotic Doctor at that filthy bar performance.”

“You danced on the table,” y/n mumbles.

“That I did,” he steels himself, trying to remember the jaunty fiddle tunes which he’d learned to play just to embarrass Dr. Devorak. The results were mixed, as it had ended with y/n and others carrying both of them home.

Valerius plays and plays until his fingers feel raw. Occasionally, he’s forced to play a grating and discordant note. But as the night wears on he can tell that even the jaunty music is not keeping y/n nearly wakeful enough.

He puts down the violin as he watches them begin to nod again and leans forward to grip them by the shoulders, giving a firm shake but careful not to touch the wound. They let out a low whimper.

“Get off me.”

“Can’t do that dear, why don’t we go for a walk?”

“I don’t want to, why are you in my rooms Valerius?”

And there’s the confusion they warned him about as he shuffles the swaying body to stand despite their complaints. He takes them on stumbling laps around the room.

“What did you do to me,” They wrestle out of his hands in a sudden burst of strength.

Valerius pinches his nose as he watches them trying to stand again. Eventually they give up and begin to sink into the floor.

“Alright!” He says far louder than necessary with a clap of his hands that makes them jump.

He leans down and helps them up as they look at him with glassy eyes before pulling them back to their feet. He directs them to hold on to the bedpost.

“y/n. I will _literally_ be right back. DO NOT sleep, do you hear me?” He gives them another strong shake as they sway on the spot.

He moves into the ensuite swiftly and is infinitely thankful that Nadia had the whole palace fitted with running water.

He starts the tub filling with cold water and quickly lights all the candles—it probably only takes a few minutes, maybe less. He leaves the water running as he heads back to his rooms as fast as he can. He doesn’t care if it overflows.

He re-enters the bedroom and finds it empty.

“Y/n!?”

Valerius does not cry. He never cries. He’s not a man who cries.

But his eyes feel damp against the rising panic under his ribs. He checks the floor, under the bed, peeks out into the hall. He’s tearing at his hair as he heads back into the room and throws the robes over his shoulders to go on the hunt—and that’s when he sees it.

The closet is slightly ajar.

He practically tears the door off the hinges as he slams the door open.

“Y/n!” They barely flinch at his yell, already falling into sleep.

He leans down to give them a shake, but all they do is half-heartedly push his hands away with no sign of their eyes flickering open.

Valerius is left with a choice, he reaches down and grasps y/n behind the arm where he knows the wound is still tender where the poison entered their shoulder.

He grits his teeth and _presses._

They come alive with a choked yell of pain that turns into writhing as they try to get away but are blocked by the walls of the closet.

“Please let me go!” They gasp out as he tugs them off the floor none too gently.

Now he’s certain he can feel tears in his eyes.

“You’re alright y/n, come on.” Once he’s got them off the floor he lets up on the wound and uses their lack of balance to direct them to the bathroom.

He strips y/n as quickly as he can, pulling off their shirt and trousers and leaving their underclothes—the idea of stripping them naked when they barely know where they are makes him feel sick.

The tub is near overflowing.

He turns off the faucet and holds the back of their neck before directing them into the icy water—they weakly press against his hold.

“Why are you doing this to me.”

“You’ve been poisoned love. You have to stay awake.”

He waits while they shiver and adjust to the water before using his hands to pour it over their head. They let out a low whine.

“Hush, you’re alright.”

“Valerius!” He hears someone holler from the main room. He jumps away from them to wipe at his face.

“In the bathroom.” He tries to sound normal, but it comes out cracked.

The magician slams through the door without preamble. Asra freezes when they see his face in the candlelight.

“y/n?” Asra asks.

“It’s cold.” They mumble a reply, sounding much more wakeful.

Asra visibly relaxes.

“What happened?”

Valerius pulls himself together with as deep a breath he can muster before he replies.

“Nothing’s working, they tried to hide from me and I forced them into the bath—they, they don’t recognize me…”

Asra nods before going to the tub’s edge.

“Y/n?” Valerius watches as they look up at Asra with glassy eyes. Leaning into his hand when he slides it over their cheek.

He knows bits about how Asra took care of y/n after the plague, but now, seeing his partner reduced to their most base fears and the incessant need for sleep, seeing the way they lean into Asra’s touch as he imagines one would to close family. Or maybe something more. Like y/n knows Asra before they know anything else.

“Asra,” it’s a soft thing, a weak whisper. Valerius feels like he’s seeing something he isn’t meant to.

“Valerius.”

He jumps at his name.

“I’ll get them out of the bath and dressed. Take a breather.”

He’s so shaken he doesn’t bother trying to hide his relief, he just nods and hopes the gratitude is visible on his face as he exits the ensuite.

He pulls out a set of his own nightclothes and re-enters the bathroom only to hand them off to Asra before he’s out the door and hyperventilating in the hallway.

It feels like his lungs with shrivel, like his heart might explode. The panic sits in his guts like a rock.

How humiliating.

“Head between your knees,” he nearly jumps at the deep rumbling voice beside him.

Muriel.

He turns his face away and wipes his eyes viciously.

“I’m fine.” He barely chokes out the words.

“You’re not.” Muriel slides down the wall beside Valerius to sit on the floor.

When he pats the ground beside him, it’s all Valerius can do to shakily drop to the floor, pulling his knees up to lean his forehead against them.

“Good.”

The sound of his harsh breaths fills the hallway.

“Follow my count.” Muriel says.

Then he counts, slow and steadily, through every breath until Valerius breathes shaky and slow and the tears that wouldn’t stop for anything wane.

When Valerius looks up he sees that the man is very pointedly not looking at him.

The kindness makes Valerius want to scream. To stand fast and say something cutting.

“Thank you.” Is what he says instead.

Muriel looks at him then, his scarred face gentle.

“You are welcome.”

They sit for a while longer, until they can hear y/n moaning about being kept up somewhere in Valerius’ room.

“I should return to them,” Valerius brushes himself off and stands, trying to right his completely disheveled outfit, “thank you Muriel.”

Muriel just nods and doesn’t move to get up. He must be waiting for Asra, Valerius concludes.

When he re-enters his rooms, he finds Asra is helping y/n to lay on the bed.

“How are they?”

Asra doesn’t look at him, just continues helping y/n arrange themselves in a comfortable position on the bed.

“You’re right Valerius, nothings working.”

His heart drops into his stomach at the words.

“We’ll have to use this,” Asra holds up an unassuming necklace.

It’s only when he holds out the offending thing like it’s poisoned that Valerius can see Asra’s red rimmed eyes.

“I don’t think I—”

“I’ll do it.” Valerius takes it and moves around Asra to stand beside y/n. They look less disturbed by his presence and more puzzled.

“Lift your head y/n.” Asra whispers. They follow the command and Valerius slips his hands behind their neck, careful not to touch them as he latches the clasp of the necklace and steps back to allow them to relax into the bed.

“Can I sleep now?”

“No, try to stay awake, please y/n.” Asra sounds desperate. They both know y/n won’t be able to stay awake on their own.

y/n lets out a great yawn.

“Okay I’ll try.”

Valerius watches, tense, with the magician mirroring him at his side, as y/n slowly nods off.

_ZAP._

There’s a pained gasp as y/n jolts awake and Valerius is catching their hands as they attempt to claw the necklace off.

…

You wake up in Valerius’ rooms, facing the velvety blue covering of the canopy bed.

Your throat is burning sore and your shoulder throbs.

Your memory is a strange and painful blur, you can recall Muriel carrying you, and laying on the floor somewhere. Valerius was there. The rest is like a jumbled nightmare. A mixture of faces and places and too many hands holding you down while voices begged you to stay awake.

You move to sit up and find your wrists look terribly bruised, and your movement is impeded by the tight wrappings that loop from your injured shoulder around the rest of your chest.

You are also stopped by the winding pile of hair near your leg. Valerius is dead asleep, facedown, half on the bed and half in a short chair that’s been pulled up to the bedside.

You sit up, careful not to jostle him. Out the windows you can see the sun is already high in the sky.

There’s a glass of water on the table, you stretch out a shaky hand and take it, lifting it carefully to drink. The water is a balm on your throat. You drink deep until the glass is empty, placing it down on the table with a dull clinking sound.

Valerius jumps awake, nearly falling out of the chair at the sound, you jump too at the sudden movement.

He looks terrible, deep bags under his eyes and obvious tear tracks down his cheeks. His hair is stringy, and half his robe hangs off his shoulder while the whole ensemble is crinkled from being slept on.

“What happened?”

Valerius brushes his hair back with a hand and smooths out his robe as if it would make a difference before replying.

“You were poisoned.”

You wrack your brain, remember being out on some reconnaissance mission for Nadia. The dart in your back. The burning pain of it flooding your veins before the sudden calm and tired began to wash over you.

“Oh…but I’m alright now,” you lean forward to catch Valerius’ hand but he stands before you reach him.

“Yes, I’ll go find the Doctor and magicians, they’ll all want a look at you.” He whirls around and heads for the door.

“Val.”

He freezes facing the door.

“Come here.” He turns back around and moves woodenly back to the bed.

From the angle you can see a nasty looking bruise on the underside of his chin. He looks miserably away from you once he’s closer to the bed. Still decidedly out of your reach.

“Yes?”

“I said come here.” You shuffle over in the bed.

His fist clench tight but he sits all the same

“Can I touch you Valerius?”

“Why would you want to.” He says bitterly.

“Why wouldn’t I?” He turns so fast you think he might topple off the bed.

He takes your hand gently in his, holding it up to the light.

“I made these when I held you down.”

You remember fragments as he speaks, you can see his teary face above you and hear the impact of a fist to a face.

Your knuckles are bruised.

You grip his chin and pull him forwards, feeling a wash of shame when you find his bruising once again.

“I punched you, didn’t I?”

“I deserved it.”

“For preventing me from removing the one thing that would keep me awake and save my life?”

“For everything y/n, I threw you in a cold bath, I had to press on your injury to keep you awake.” His voice is rapidly raising into something hysteric.

“Come here,” You wrap your arms around him before he can protest further, he shakes with it as you press your bodies as close as you can manage with your hurt shoulder.

With your hand you lightly press his face, so his ear is firmly against your sternum.

The mask he’d put on breaks with a stuttered breath that ends in a sob as he relaxes against you.

“I thought you’d die, and I’d have killed you.”

He begins to cry in earnest then. You’d never really seen him cry before.

It’s not pretty.

It’s snotty and loud and he’s definitely ruining your shirt, which now that you’re paying attention you realize is his.

“You didn’t even know me!”

You don’t have a reply for that, so you just whisper nothings and stroke his greasy hair as he cries it out.

When he’s downgraded to sniffling you carefully reach down to undo his dark blue robes and push them off him leaving him in his underclothes before shuffling over and tugging him under the blankets with you.

“The Doctor—” he mumbles a protest.

“Somebody is bound to come check on us of their own accord. Don’t worry, just sleep.”

He doesn’t argue, just snuggles into your side with his slightly damp nose tucked into your neck.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading. Please let me know if I missed any tags as I know this stuff isn't everyone's cup of tea! 
> 
> This is my first time writing Valerius, I think he's got a lot of potential as a love interest but he's also a challenge for me to write because his privileged, snooty and wealthy vibes make it hard to feel he's likable. I liked exploring how he would fit with the apprentice and what kind of labour he would be putting in to being better for the relationship to work at all (ie. respecting service staff and not starting fights with his peers). I'm still on the fence about Valerius because there's so much going on with power dynamic there too which I think deserves it's own fic maybe.   
> Anyways! As always thanks for reading, it's really nice to know my fics have an audience. Stay safe and well out there.


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